240 GARDENING WITH BRAINS '^ 



as the seed is apparently not suited to grow well under 

 any conditions. The seeds are very much larger than 

 they need to be under any circumstances; it is very 

 difficult to transplant one of them after the first season's 

 growth, and is about, if not quite, the most difficult seed 

 to germinate among the hundreds of thousands which I 

 have tested, yet I have succeeded in producing about a 

 thousand plants this year from my own selected seed. 



The papaw is a very different plant from the tropical 

 papaya; superior to it in flavor, in my opinion, but of 

 course smaller and seedy compared with it. I think 

 the hardier Northern varieties will grow in all the states 

 of the Union, as it thrives in Illinois and my original 

 stock came from that state mostly. 



My method of germinating the seeds is to plant them 

 in a mixture of turf and sand in the greenhouse in well- 

 drained boxes, where, after six months of thinking it 

 over, they begin to sprout. These are then transplanted 

 to shaded beds outside, where they are grown for one 

 year and then are sold for transplanting. 



We send you our latest catalogue describing the 

 papaw somewhat. Perhaps you may not have received 

 it, as we do not solicit Eastern orders for plants, as our 

 season makes it very difficult to hold the plants until 

 spring opens. 



In this catalogue I found a picture of six 

 egg-shaped large papaws on a tray and this 

 information: 



One of the most difficult of all trees to raise from the 

 seed and not offered elsewhere. The fruit is the size 

 and form of a small banana and excels in flavor any 

 known fruit which can be raised in temperate climates. 

 I have never so far been able to raise enough trees to 

 go around. The young trees grow very readily when of 

 the small size which I offer. 



